French Macarons – Chocolate with Espresso Buttercream
Oh the French Macaron. Such a cute little cookie that scares the crap out of most bakers… When Megan from Delicious Dishings and I decided to bake together a couple weeks ago, we each chose a recipe that we wanted to try. Megan chose the delicious chocolate hazelnut baklava and I chose French Macarons.
I had read online that macarons aren’t as intimidating as everyone says. And since I’ve been tackling kitchen challenges for a while now, I figured two baking enthusiasts like myself and Megan could handle it. When I told Megan what I wanted to do, she shared that she had tried making them and it hadn’t gone so well. That definitely didn’t instill a lot of confidence, but I stayed optimistic.
Megan just happened to have a recipe from Joanne Chang that is currently featured on the Fine Cooking website. Check out her video – I love hearing the word “macaron” pronounced WAY more correctly than I can do it. We decided to make two batches of macarons so that we could mix up some of the flavor combos. Today, I’m featuring the chocolate macarons with espresso buttercream. Be sure to check back tomorrow to hear about the second batch.
In preparation for our big day of baking, Megan and I did plenty of research on macarons. We read tons of articles online and I have to admit, I started to notice them in quite a few blogs I read. The stars were aligning for us!
Even the day of, after doing all of our research, we still read the recipe a couple times each before making them. We used a timer to time the various steps. I think if you made these on a regular basis, you’d get more of a feel for what to expect, but like I said, we were both nervous about how they’d turn out.
As you can see from the photos, our macarons had feet!! We were both very excited to see them. I’m not going to lie, I actually had never tried a macaron before baking them that day at Megan’s place. And I’m glad we made them because they’re really tasty! They have a crisp outter shell with a softer more delicate texture on the inside. If you are like I was, and think macarons are intimidating, I highly recommend making them!
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Three Years Ago: Lemon and Key Lime Curd
Chocolate Macarons with Espresso Buttercream
Yield: 30
Ingredients:
For the Chocolate Macarons
1 cup (100 grams) almond flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) confectioners' sugar
4 egg whites (120 grams), at room temperature and at least a day old
4 tablespoons (50 grams) sugar
For the Espresso Buttercream
3 egg whites (90 grams)
¾ cup (150 grams) sugar
12 tablespoons (168 grams, 1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 6-8 pieces
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Directions:
For the Chocolate Macarons
Line a clean, flat cookie sheet with a Silpat, and set it aside.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and place rack in middle of oven.
Sift together almond flour, cocoa powder, and confectioners' sugar, and set aside.
In a spotlessly clean stand mixer bowl, whip whites on medium speed until they are foamy and you can start to see the tines of the whip leaving a trail in the whites, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon of sugar, and continue to whip for about 30 to 45 seconds. Add another tablespoon of sugar, and whip again for another 30 to 45 seconds. Repeat with the third and fourth tablespoons of sugar.
When all of the sugar is mixed in, whip the whites for about another minute or two until they become glossy and shiny. Remove from mixer.
Fold in about half of the almond flour/confectioners' sugar mix; when most of it is folded in, add the rest of the dry mix. Fold until mixture is smooth and a little stiff -- it should drop smoothly off of the spatula.
Using a piping bag and a small round tip, pipe out small rounds of macaron batter about 1 inch in diameter. Try to pipe straight down and quickly pull away when you are done to minimize peaks. Pipe until you’ve used up all the batter.
Rap the cookie sheet several times to flatten out the mounds and to pop any bubbles that might be in the batter.
Let cookies rest for about 15 to 30 minutes, until they are no longer tacky to the touch.
Place in oven, and immediately turn oven down to 300 degrees. After 8 minutes, rotate the cookie sheet. Depending upon your oven, cookies take from 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool.
Remove the meringues from the parchment and pair them by size.
For the Espresso Buttercream
In a small metal or other heatproof bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg whites to make a thick slurry.
Place the bowl over (not touching) simmering water in a saucepan and heat, whisking occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mixture is hot to the touch. It will thin out a bit as the sugar melts.
Remove from the heat and scrape the mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Whip on medium-high speed for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the mixture becomes a light, white meringue and is cool to the touch.
Turn down the speed to low and add the chunks of butter one at a time. The mixture will look curdled at first, but don’t worry. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about 3 to 4 minutes until the buttercream is smooth. Add the espresso and salt.
Buttercream may be used immediately or stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Remove from fridge about 3 to 4 hours before using, and using the paddle attachment of the mixer, paddle the buttercream until it becomes smooth enough to use.
Fill the cookies
Using a piping bag with the same tip used to pipe the cookies, pipe 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons of the filling onto half of the cookies—you want to use just enough filling that it spreads to the edge when topped but doesn’t squish out much when bitten. Top the filled halves with their partners. The cookies are best the day they’re made, but you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe adapted from Joanne Chang, as seen on Fine Cooking
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Peppermint for sure
Love all things pumpkin this time of year!
ralphlucy at comcast.net
The richness of eggnog is one of my fave parts of the holiday season
jlynch6341@aol.com
I can’t decide if it’s peppermint or pumpkin! Oooh or egg nog!
yet another choc/peppermint combination to tempt me. Oh my! These look lovely! Peppermint is Christmas to me!
I tweeted too! breit85@gmail.com
love,
cathy b. @ brightbakes
I looooooooooooooooooooooove chocolate and peppermint. Especially when the chocolate is hot and the peppermint is liquor. Or any other way, really.
Oh I love Pumpkin and Peppermint! Two things my husband hates!
Apple Cider!! I drink it all winter long.
smartash1218@yahoo.com
Definately chocolate and peppermint or anything heavy on the cinnamon and nutmeg! Too bad I can’t win these liners with your cupcakes already in them! They look wonderful!
I <3 peppermint, it's a guilty pleasure. Also that I get to overeat gingerbread. That's where i pudge at the holidays, with Gingerbread flavor. its decadent and delicous.
Also: my word verification is redip. which entertains me.
I love the chocolate/peppermint combo.
My favorite holiday sweet is gingerbread cookies. rhisomers(at)gmail(dot)com
I tweeted it. and bragged you up.
So weird that it came out so thin for you! Maybe I should’ve specified what size can? Whoops. Anyway, I used a 14 ounce can and it came out pretty thick. Weird. I’m going to update my recipe with size now. 😉
The cupcakes look great anyway! 🙂
Okay, ignore me. Apparently I only used 3/4 of a cup of the condensed milk. Seriously, the cold weather is messing with my head.
I love chocolate and coconut this time of year. oh and of course marshmallow!
goorsky at g mail dot com
I agree – I love chocolate and peppermint this time of year. And your idea to fill the cupcakes w/peppermint and top w/chocolate ganache sounds amazing! But really who minds a bit of a mess when eating something so tasty?
Just tweeted
yum, these look delicious. i love homemade eggnog this time of year:)
Chocolate and Peppermint is a classic xmas combo that I just love.
ive been drinking peppermint mocha lattes like they’re going out of style. definitely a favorite combo! I love gingerbread this time of year too!
I love my Grandma’s almond puff 🙂 Soooo yummy
I’m lovin’ everything almond! Banket is a holiday staple at our house & I can’t get enough almond paste!
I’m partial to peppermint, especially those Andes Peppermint Chocolates. They’re like crack.
sarah(dot)chverchko(at)gmail(dot)com
Anything chocolate!
my fav is peppermint! i love candycanes and mint choc! 🙂
mandaala.blogspot.com
any kind dessert that looks “Christmas-y” is on my list!
I am in complete agreement- chocolate-peppermint is my favorite!!!
My favorite holiday flavor: Rum. Rum in Truffles, rum in eggnog, Rum in banana muffins, rum in pineapple upside down cakes…..yup, rum. 🙂
peppermint and chocolate is one of my favorite holiday flavors, but you know I have to remain loyal to pumpkin!
those look so good! peppermint is by far my fave holiday flavor!
but really also love buttery goodness in cookies. hmmm.
ctcupcake8@yahoo.com
GREAT!!!! hugs, Flavia
Peppermint (ideally with chocolate)!
Those look amazing!
I love mint chocolate and for the holidays put amaretto in EVERYTHING.
I am kind of peppermint obsessed so I absolutely love your cupcakes. Not to mention a peppermint patty frosting just sounds like pure bliss!
xo
ps I am your newest follower
Molasses. Or coconut. And butter. Those are the dominant flavors in three of my favorite holiday cookies. nsp429@gmail.com
I’m also on the peppermint bandwagon!
Chocolate and peppermint defo!
shelly8806@hotmail.com
I didn’t used to love the whole chocolate peppermint combo until I made an amazing cake from Bon Appetit last year. Now I’m hooked. I just ate a peppermint chocolate cookie for lunch today.
Those wrappers are so cute!
Pumpkin for sure. I love my pumpkin choc chip muffins! sunshine4342 at juno dot com
Yum! I am all about mint, and so is my bf.
PUMPKIN PUMPKIN PUMPKIN!!! Can’t get enough!
chocomuncher88 @ yahoo . com
Peppermint and gingerbread. YUM!
cmerrey at gmail dot com
My favorite flavor would have to be Egg Nog, or Peppermint :)!
meggie_sue@woh.rr.com
Peppermint for sure!!!
Silly I know but I love Fruitcake in all its yummy, rummy goodness.
Love eggnog! And mulled cider.
– Amanda
I love peppermint and pumpkin best! 🙂
Cinnamon!
Peppermint is definitely my fave! cnahorvath@yahoo.com
my favorite holiday flavor is eggnog. I think I could eat or drink about anything with eggnog
Pumpkin pie spice 🙂 … in everything from homemade pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin bread! My fav!
Peppermint for me! These cupcakes look delicious…love the baking liners!
It’s a toss up between pumpkin and chocolate/peppermint.
phjones21@yahoo.com
These cupcakes look awesome! They are so pretty 🙂
Such a fun giveaway too. My favorite holiday flavors are ginger and molasses….yum!
Eggnog for sure!!! I just made Eggnog cookies that are actually TOO good….I can’t stay away!
I love simple molasses cookies! Molasses is one of my favorite things this time of year=)
I am SO with you on the chocolate/mint combo! Beyond delicious! I always make some peppermint biscotti at this time of year – yum! : )
love the combo of peppermint and chocolate. also love KA flour – use it all the time.
jacquieastemborski AT comcast DOT net
Well they look delicious! But I can see the pain of the ooziness!
Peppermint and chocolate is my favorite!
I love sweet things – especially egg nog!
Peppermint – I get addicted to peppermint mochas this time of year.
Mint chocolate! Yum!!
Cranberry! I think this started when we were giving our ‘grown up’ drink for Christmas Eve dinner. The real adults had wine and we had cran-raspberry juice for the kids version.
jfalksen at gmail dot com
As always, your post makes me want to lick my computer screen! I made your Snickerdoodle brownies the other day and I ate just about the whole pan. By myself. Need to give away the rest and then make them again because they made my apt smell AMAZING!
chocolate and mint, yum!
ljyoung85 at gmail.com
Coconut is my favorite! I put in mostly everything I bake during this time of year.
I love sweet things at this time of year. Especially the peppermint bark or candy cane hershey kisses.
I love anything eggnog flavored, especially baked goods. Mint is a good one too.
Peppermint hot chocolate! Or caramel…or pumpkin….
ooh, for the holidays i’d have to go with eggnog or peppermint!
I love peppermint! Can’t get enough of it this time of year!
My favorite holiday flavor has to be molasses. We have a family cookie recipe involving molasses that never gets old!
Almond flavoring goes into several of our cookies- including the candy cane cookies. The combo of almond with mint makes for a great cookie!! Eggnog and chex mix add to this yummy Christmas Eve combination.
My favorite holiday flavor is sweet – the chocolate-peppermint combo, mmm!
Vanilla (as in the icing on my mother-in-law’s fabulously delicious sugar cookies). Mmmm….
Chocolate is my favorite flavor year round!
I’m not sure if I have a favorite holiday flavor… I’ve been sitting here thinking about it for a few minutes. Mint perhaps? But not in excessive amounts.
My favorite holiday flavor is really my favorite year round flavor — cinnamon! I love cinnamon anything.
Hood Golden Egg Nog – yum!
Egg nog. I discovered Silk Egg Nog flavor as well as the See’s egg nog truffle this year. So happy.
amazing! can’t wait to bake them!
I love anything that is baked with eggnog! This year I’m thinking I might have to try to make eggnog truffles! YUM!
bbscabral@gmail.com
Peppermint and chocolate used to be my favorite flavor combo, but lately it’s become chili pepper and chocolate. I love the juxtaposition of spicy and sweet!
Pumpkin for Thanksgiving-time, eggnog for Christmas-time. I always forget how much I love eggnog until the time is here! 🙂
pumpkin bread! hbhalsod@gmail.com
I worship KAF. I mean WORSHIP! So I would love to win this one. My fave flavour combo for the holidays is probably chocolate and mint too, but I am really into gingerbread these days.